gilgamesh question 3

Question 3:

The epic portrays eternal life as given to Utnapishtim and the other gods as an unqualified good much superior to the life of mortal men.  Would you agree with this statement?  Why or why not?  To develop your answer, evaluate the different attitudes towards mortality and immortality that appear in the tale.  Take care to read between the lines and listen to differences among the narrator and the various speakers.

Upon Enkidu’s death, Gilgamesh becomes obsessed with the concept of escaping his own seemingly inevitable death by achieving immortality equal to that of the gods. Earlier in the epic, Gilgamesh revealed that his reasoning for journeying to the Cedar forest to slay Umbaba was so that he could bring eternal fame to his name and always be remembered on Earth, long after his actual passing. This implies early on that Gilgamesh lives in fear of his own lack of immortality. If he could at least be famous, maybe he could handle being only part god, and therefore not qualifying for eternal life.
After Enkidu and Gilgamesh slay Umbaba, Enkidu is left with a curse that eventually causes him to fall ill and parish. At this point in the narrative, Gilgamesh has already accomplished the feat that he believes will grant him immortality in the way of fame, but the shear reality of his equal’s death shocks Gilgamesh into no longer believing that this fame will not be enough; he still lives in great fear of his literal mortality.

At this point in the story, Gilgamesh recalls his ancestor Utnapishtim, the man who survived the great flood and is the only human living with immortality. Gilgamesh then makes it his quest to find Utnapishtim, because if there is one exception, then why could not another be made for himself?